Context information based on type of routine being called

ABSTRACT

Optimizations are provided for sibling calls. A sibling caller is marked to indicate that it may call a sibling routine or that it may call an external sibling routine. Based on the marking, certain processing is performed to facilitate use of sibling calls, particularly when the sibling routine being called is external to the caller.

This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. application Ser.No. 15/378,150, entitled “CONTEXT INFORMATION BASED ON TYPE OF ROUTINEBEING CALLED,” filed Dec. 14, 2016, which is hereby incorporated hereinby reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

One or more aspects relate, in general, to processing within a computingenvironment, and in particular, to processing associated with siblingcalls.

Sibling calls (also referred to as sibcalls) are calls to routines, suchas functions or subroutines, performed at the end of a calling routine.When a caller makes a sibling call, the caller is not expecting thecalled routine to return to the caller. A calling routine and the calledroutine may be the same routine. When this occurs, the call may bereferred to as a tailcall. The term, sibcall and derivations thereof, asused herein, include tailcalls and derivations thereof.

Detecting and implementing sibling calls offer an opportunity to improvecode performance. However, today, in many environments, theeffectiveness of sibcalls is limited by the restriction that sibcallsare to be made only to local callees. When a sibcaller (i.e., thefunction calling its sibling routine) has been called locally, theoriginal call may not have generated enough information to perform areturn from an external function. Since it is not known whether thesibcaller will be called using a local or extern call, the compiler maynot generate sibcalls to any extern symbol.

SUMMARY

Shortcomings of the prior art are overcome and additional advantages areprovided through the provision of a computer program product forfacilitating processing within a computing environment. The computerprogram product comprises a storage medium readable by a processingcircuit and storing instructions for execution by the processing circuitfor performing a method. The method includes, for instance, determiningwhether a caller is calling a routine that potentially calls one or moresibling routines. Based on determining the caller is calling the routinethat potentially calls one or more sibling routines, checking whether asibling routine being called by the routine is an external siblingroutine, the external sibling routine being in a different module thanthe routine. Based on the checking indicating the sibling routine is anexternal sibling routine, an action is performed to provide contextinformation to be used in the sibling routine returning to the caller.The performing the action to provide context information based on thesibling routine being an external sibling routine enables the siblingroutine to properly return.

As one example, the context information includes information to restorean indicator to a global offset table.

In a further embodiment, based on the checking indicating the siblingroutine is not an external sibling routine, an abbreviated call sequenceis generated, in which the context information is omitted. Thisfacilitates processing when the sibling routine is not an externalsibling routine.

As an example, at least one of the determining, the checking and theproviding is performed by a linker executing on a processor of thecomputing environment.

In one embodiment, a determination is made of one or more sibling calldestinations of the routine, and the checking whether the routine iscalling an external sibling routine is based on the one or more siblingcall destinations that are determined.

Further, in one embodiment, the determining whether the caller iscalling the routine that potentially calls one or more sibling routinesincludes checking a marker of the routine. As examples, the marker isindicated by a pseudo-instruction included within the routine, themarker is included in a symbol data structure of the routine, or themarker is a relocation entry associated with the routine used toindicate whether the routine potentially calls one or more siblingroutines.

In one example, the routine and the caller are in one module.

Methods and systems relating to one or more aspects are also describedand claimed herein. Further, services relating to one or more aspectsare also described and may be claimed herein.

Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniquesdescribed herein. Other embodiments and aspects are described in detailherein and are considered a part of the claimed aspects.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

One or more aspects are particularly pointed out and distinctly claimedas examples in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. Theforegoing and objects, features, and advantages of one or more aspectsare apparent from the following detailed description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1A depicts one example of a parent routine calling a child routine,which then calls a sibling routine, in accordance with an aspect of thepresent invention;

FIG. 1B depicts the use of a plurality of sibling routines, inaccordance with an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 2A depicts one embodiment of a parent routine calling a local childroutine;

FIG. 2B depicts one embodiment of a local child routine calling anexternal sibling routine;

FIG. 3A depicts one embodiment of marking a child routine as asibcaller, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 3B depicts one example of a symbol table used in accordance with anaspect of the present invention;

FIG. 3C depicts one example of context information being restored basedon the child routine being marked as a sibcaller, in accordance with anaspect of the present invention;

FIG. 4A depicts one embodiment of processing associated with asibcaller, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 4B depicts one embodiment of processing associated with apotentially external sibcaller, in accordance with an aspect of thepresent invention;

FIG. 5 depicts one embodiment of processing used to select informationto be stored based on whether a sibcaller is being called, in accordancewith an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 6 depicts one embodiment of processing associated with calling asibcaller, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 7A depicts one example of an external child routine calling anexternal sibling routine, in accordance with an aspect of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7B depicts one embodiment of processing associated with calling anexternal sibling routine, in accordance with an aspect of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 depicts one embodiment of providing a correction for a situationin which the parent routine thought it was calling a local child routinebut instead was calling an external child routine or the local childroutine called an external sibling routine, in accordance with an aspectof the present invention;

FIGS. 9A-9B depict one embodiment of facilitating processing in acomputing environment, in accordance with an aspect of the presentinvention;

FIG. 10 depicts one embodiment of a computing environment to incorporateand use one or more aspects of the present invention;

FIG. 11A depicts another embodiment of a computing environment toincorporate and use one or more aspects of the present invention;

FIG. 11B depicts one embodiment of the memory of FIG. 11A;

FIG. 12 depicts one embodiment of a cloud computing node;

FIG. 13 depicts one embodiment of a cloud computing environment; and

FIG. 14 depicts one example of abstraction model layers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In accordance with one or more aspects of the present invention, acapability is provided to facilitate the use of sibling calls. Forinstance, optimizations are provided to efficiently use sibling callsand to enhance processing associated therewith.

Sibling calls provide efficiencies over other function calls. Forexample, take the following child routine:

child( ) { return sib(a+1); {

Without using sibcalls, the following processing takes place, in oneexample:

child: (allocate stackframe) ld r3, r2, a@got addi r3,r3, 1 bl sib NOP(deallocate stackframe) blr

Where ld is load, addi is add immediate, bl is branch link, NOP is nooperation, and blr is branch to link register, e.g., in accordance withthe Power architecture.

However, using sibcalls, the processing is, as follows, in one example:

child:

ld r3, r2, a@got addi r3, r3, 1

Thus, by using sibcalls, the child routine does not need to allocate ordeallocate a stackframe used to save return information to be used byfunction child( ) to return to its caller after the subroutine call tofunction sib( ) has returned, or perform a NOP which serves as aplaceholder for a potential global offset table (GOT) restoreinstruction, in case the linker resolves the call to sib( ) tocorrespond to a function that is external relative to the module offunction child( ). The function child( ) transfers control to sib( )using the branch instruction b and function sib( ) returns directly tothe caller of child( ). Consequently, the code is simpler and moreefficient.

Further details regarding sibcalls are described with reference to FIGS.1A-1B. As shown in FIG. 1A, a parent routine 100 calls a child routine102. The child routine then calls a sibling routine 104. Child routine102 is referred to as a sibcaller and sibling routine 104 is referred toas a sibcallee. Sibling routine 104 returns directly to parent routine100, instead of returning to child routine 102, which would then returnto parent routine 100.

As shown in FIG. 1B, sibcallee 104 may further call a sibling routine106, which then returns directly to parent routine 100. In this case,sibling routine 104 is also a sibcaller, and sibling routine 106 is asibcallee.

In calling functions, an application binary interface (ABI) may be used,which determines how functions are called. An ABI may use a linkermanaged Global Offset Table (GOT), which provides access to variables.In particular, a compiler generates object code from source code,without knowing the final address or displacement of the code/data.Specifically, the compiler generates object code that will access avariable address reference data structure (e.g., a Global Offset Tableor a Table of Contents (TOC)) for variable values without knowing thefinal size of the data structure or offsets/addresses of various datasections. Placeholders for this information are left in the object codeand updated by a linker.

For an ABI with a linker managed GOT (or similar structure), sibcallsare currently restricted to compiler-determined local calls. An exampleof a local call is described with reference to FIG. 2A. A parent routine200 calls a child routine 202 that is within a same module as the parentroutine. The child routine is known to be local, and therefore, there isno GOT update; that is, there is no update to context information,including, for instance, return information, such as indicators to theGOT (e.g., GOT pointers) and/or other information. Since the childroutine is local, on return to the parent routine, the context does notneed to be updated, and therefore, parent routine 200 includes a NOPinstruction 210, instead of an instruction to restore the context.

Since the context does not get restored, if the local child routinecalls an external sibling routine, the context will be incorrect. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 2B, child routine 202 may call a sibling (sib)routine 220, which is in a different module than child routine 202 andparent routine 200, and therefore, is an external sibling routine. Thelinker connects child routine 202 to external sibling routine 220 by,for instance, a procedure link table (PLT) stub. The PLT stub provides atrampoline to external function 220. External function 220 executes anduses the GOT to reference its own global variables. It also updates thecontext information, e.g., the GOT. When it returns, using a branch tolink register (blr) instruction 222, it returns to NOP 210 in the parentroutine. However, the GOT has not been restored, as the call to functionchild( ) was generated as a module-local call and hence without the needto restore the GOT pointer (an example function context corresponding toa module in which execution occurs) so the next time the parent routineuses the GOT, it incorrectly uses the GOT for module 2 instead of module1. Thus, sibcalls are currently restricted to compiler-determined localcalls.

The problem arises since the call to the external function (or even apotential external function) is hidden from the linker. The linker seesa local call and omits restoration of the context information, such asthe GOT pointer. Therefore, in accordance with an aspect of the presentinvention, a child routine, such as child function 202, is marked as aroutine that potentially calls a sibling routine. In one embodiment,only sibcallers that may be calling external sibling routines aremarked. This marking, as shown in FIG. 3A, may include, for instance,placing a pseudo-instruction (i.e., an instruction that is not executedby a processor, but provides an indication to the linker), referred toas sibcaller 300, in the child routine. Sibcaller pseudo-instruction 300provides, for instance, an indication to the linker that the routine isor may be a sibcaller. For instance, based on pseudo-instruction 300,the assembler or other binary object translator marks, e.g., a symboldata structure (e.g., table) or provides a relocation (reloc) entry forthe routine to indicate the routine is or may be a sibcaller.

As examples, different pseudo-instructions, markings and/or relocs maybe used to distinguish between calling sibling routines and callingexternal sibling routines. Many variations are possible.

In one particular example, as shown in FIG. 3B, a symbol table 330 isgenerated and stored in an application's object code 332 (e.g., storedin memory, on disk, etc.). A symbol table includes a number of fields,such as a symbol name 336, a type 340, a scope 342, and in accordancewith an aspect of the present invention, a marking field 338 thatindicates whether or not the function is a sibcaller. If the function isor potentially is a sibcaller, as indicated by pseudo-instruction 300,marking field 338 is set to, e.g., 1; otherwise it is set, e.g., to 0.

In a further example, based on pseudo-instruction 300, a relocationentry (e.g., .reloc) is created, in accordance with an applicationbinary interface (ABI), and associated with the function to indicate thefunction is or potentially is a sibcaller. Relocation entries (.reloc)may be generated in accordance with the ELF (executable and linkableformat), or a similar object file definition.

In further examples, an indication may be placed elsewhere, such as,e.g., in .localentry, a symbol table, or a .reloc relocation entry; oranother marking of a function and/or its associated function symbol maybe provided. As examples, the marking may be set in the symbol table orthe relocation entry may be generated without use of thepseudo-instruction. Many variations are possible.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, marker indications that arein intermediate code, such as textual assembly language representation,may in turn be translated into a marker in a symbol table entry (e.g.,using at least one bit of the st other field or of another field of asymbol table entry as used in conjunction with the example ELF(executable and linkable format) format in accordance with the ELF ABI),a binary relocation indicator, or another object representation formarking either a function or its function symbol as corresponding to asibcaller in an object file format. In yet another embodiment, theobject file format may be directly generated by a code generation tool,such as a compiler.

In yet a further embodiment, a reloc entry may be added to a function toindicate it is a sibling. Generally, function calls are indicated withone of several function call relocations. Thus, a reloc may be used forsibling calls that is distinct from function calls. The presence of sucha reloc could, in and of itself, be an indicator that a function calls asibling routine. The function is scanned to determine whether anysibcalls are present. For a quicker determination, placing an indicatorin the symbol table or a special “marker reloc” at the beginning of thefunction may be easier/faster to process than looking over the functionto determine whether such a reloc is present.

When a marked sibcaller is linked by the linker, and the caller to thesibcaller is a local caller, the linker, based on the caller calling thesibcaller, generates a call sequence that stores sufficient context. Forinstance, the current value of a GOT pointer is stored, and contextrestoration code, such as GOT pointer restoration code is inserted, sothat an external sibcall may be performed. For instance, returning toFIG. 3A, based on sibcaller pseudo-instruction 300, the linker obtainsan indication (e.g., is notified, determines, etc.) that this functionmay call a non-local sibling routine, and therefore, the linker inserts,e.g., GOT pointer restore code 310, instead of NOP 210, even for localcalls. In this example, r2 is the GOT register and ld refers to load.

Referring to FIG. 3C, based on the linker obtaining the indication andthe linker providing the restoration code, when child routine 202 callssib routine 220 and sib 220 returns via blr 222 to parent routine 200,the context information, e.g., GOT, is restored 310, so the next timeparent routine 200 references the GOT, it references the correct GOT.For instance, in one embodiment, if child routine 202 is a potentialsibcaller to an external sibling routine, the context (e.g., GOTpointer) is stored such that it may be restored on return from sibroutine 220. As one example, the context may be stored in a stub, suchas an abbreviated procedure link table (PLT) stub or other stub thatstores the context information. In another embodiment, a placeholderinstruction (e.g., a NOP instruction), placed in the parent routine(e.g., above the bl child instruction) to provide a placeholder for aGOT store instruction for external calls, is replaced with the GOT storeinstruction. Other examples may be used to store the contextinformation.

The above technique may be used if the parent routine and the childroutine are in the same module or different modules. That is, the childroutine can be local to the parent routine or external from the parentroutine, in which the child routine is accessed via, e.g., a PLT stub.It works in the external case (where a sibcaller indication for thecalled function may not be visible for the linker) because, regardlessof the presence of sibcaller pseudo-instruction 300 in the sibcallerchild function (which by definition is not available as it is externalto the present module being linked), the static linker inserts the GOTsave/restore restoration sequence since the child is external.

Further details regarding marking sibcallers are described withreference to FIGS. 4A-4B. Initially, referring to FIG. 4A, the compileranalyzes code looking for potential sibcallers, STEP 400. For instance,the compiler analyzes the code looking for function calls in which nofurther processing of the results of the called function is performed bythe caller. If a routine is determined to be a potential sibcaller,INQUIRY 402, then the routine is marked as a sibcaller, STEP 404. Forinstance, the compiler inserts the sibcaller pseudo-instruction, marks asymbol table and/or adds a relocation entry. However, if a routine isnot determined to be a sibcaller (or potential sibcaller), then such amarking is not performed, STEP 406.

In a further aspect, sibcallers that may be calling potential externalsiblings are determined and marked (e.g., instead of all sibcallers).For instance, as shown in FIG. 4B, code is analyzed by the compilerlooking for potentially external sibcallers; i.e., sibcallers that maypotentially call potential external sibcallees, STEP 420. In this case,the compiler analyzes the code looking function calls in which nofurther processing of the results of the called function is performed bythe caller. Further, it determines whether the sibcall is known to be alocal sibcall (e.g., based on programming constructs). If it is known tobe a local sibcall, then it is not marked as a potential externalsibcaller that may call a potential external sibling. However, if thecall is not known to be a local sibcall, then the sibcaller is marked aspotentially calling a potential external sibling.

In one embodiment, the compiler provides information about sibcallees inconjunction with sibcaller relocation information. In anotherembodiment, the linker analyzes the compiler generated code to determinethe sibcallees. In one embodiment, additional hints are emitted by thecompiler to aid the linker in analyzing a sibcaller function, e.g., byindicating the length or range of each function, or multiple ranges if afunction has been compiled in a discontiguous manner.

If a sibcaller that may be calling an external sibling routine isdetermined, INQUIRY 422, then the sibcaller is marked as a potentiallyexternal sibcaller, STEP 424. In one embodiment, the compiler insertsthe sibcaller pseudo-instruction (or another sibcallerpseudo-instruction that is specific for potentially externalsibcallers), marks a symbol table and/or adds a relocation entry. In yetanother embodiment, the linker analyzes the code for sibcall sites.However, if such a potentially external sibcaller has not been found,then such a marking is not performed, STEP 426.

In a further aspect, with reference to FIG. 5, when a linker links a setof objects and determines that a local call may be performed, the linkerperforms a test to determine whether the called function corresponds toa sibcaller that may be calling an external sibling, INQUIRY 500. In oneembodiment, this corresponds to determining whether the called functionhas been marked as a sibcaller, as described with reference to FIG. 4B.In another embodiment, the test is whether a sibcaller is being calledwithout considering whether the sibcaller may be potentially calling anexternal sibcallee. In one example, this corresponds to determiningwhether the called function has been marked as a sibcaller, inaccordance with, e.g., the technique of FIG. 4A. In yet anotherembodiment, this corresponds to determining whether the called functionhas been marked as a sibcaller in accordance with, e.g., the techniqueof FIG. 4A and further including a linker based analysis, e.g., based onone of the object code and associated relocations, or a list ofsibcallers specified for a sibcaller in a file format, of whether any ofthe sibcallees may correspond to an external sibcallee.

If a sibcaller who may potentially call an external sibcallee (or, inanother embodiment, a sibcaller regardless of whether calling anexternal sibcallee or a local sibcallee) is being called, the linkergenerates an external call sequence that stores and restores enoughcontext information so that the sibcaller can call an external siblingroutine (e.g., storing GOT or TOC information), STEP 502.

However, if a sibcaller who may potentially call an external sibcallee(or, in another embodiment, a sibcaller regardless of whether calling anexternal sibcallee or a local sibcallee) is not being called, then thelinker generates an abbreviated call sequence, STEP 504. That is, a moreefficient call is generated that does not store and restore enoughcontext information so that the sibcaller can call an external siblingroutine. Code is omitted for efficiency.

During execution, in one embodiment, the generated code performs a callto the sibcaller (which is so marked) and stores context information tobe able to perform a return from an external module. The sibcaller isthen called. The sibcaller performs an external sibcall to its externalsibling, the sibcallee. An external function return is performed by thesibcallee using the global return information, stored by the caller tothe sibcaller, when the sibcaller was called locally. Upon return fromthe sibcallee, the context information (such as a GOT pointer) isrestored.

In a further aspect, a determination is made as to whether thesibcallees are actually external and action is taken based thereon.Referring to FIG. 6, in one embodiment, the linker determines whether asibcaller who may potentially call an external sibcallee (or, in anotherembodiment, a sibcaller regardless of whether potentially calling anexternal sibcallee or a local sibcallee) is being called, INQUIRY 600.If a sibcaller who may potentially call an external sibcallee (orsibcaller regardless of whether potentially calling an externalsibcallee or a local sibcallee) is being called, the linker determinessibcall destinations based on linkage results, STEP 602. A determinationis made as to whether the sibcaller actually calls an external siblingin any of its paths, STEP 604. If an external sibling is called, thenenough context information is stored so that the sibcaller can call anexternal sibling (e.g., GOT information), STEP 606. However, if thesibcaller does not call an external sibling, INQUIRY 604, or a sibcallerwho may potentially call an external sibcallee (or a sibcallerregardless of whether potentially calling an external sibcallee or alocal sibcallee) is not called, INQUIRY 600, then a more efficient callis generated, STEP 608. That is, information, such as thesaving/restoring of the context information, is omitted.

In one embodiment, if any of the sibcallees of a first sibcaller ismarked as a sibcaller, the sibcallee is treated as an external sibling.In another embodiment, if any of the sibcallees of a first sibcaller ismarked as a sibcaller and the sibcall of the first sibcaller is not atailcall (i.e., the sibcallee of the first sibcaller is not the firstsibcaller calling itself), the sibcallee is treated as an externalsibling.

As a further embodiment, the transitive closure of sibcallers iscomputed with respect to external module calls (i.e., to determinewhether any of the sibcallees that are called by the sibcaller arecalling external siblings, or in turn are calling sibcallers that may becalling external siblings, and so forth), and if any extern sibcall isfound in the transitive closure of the called siblings, then thesibcaller is called with a call saving enough information to return fromsuch an eventual external sibling.

In one embodiment, optimization analysis, configuration files,programmer hints, or profile directed feedback may indicate to performone or more of the sibcaller optimizations for some functions, but notothers. For example, when the sibcaller rarely calls the siblingroutine, the optimization may not be advantageous and one of aprogrammer, feedback component or analysis component may determine tosuppress the optimization for a particular sibcaller. In one example,this adaptive step suppresses the call sites of a sibcaller and performsnormal function calls rather than sibcalls and causes the sibcaller notto be marked. Other examples are also possible.

In another embodiment, optimization analysis, configuration files,programmer hints, or profile directed feedback may indicate to performone or more sibcaller optimizations for some called sibling routines ofa sibcaller, but not others. For example, if one sibcaller is commonlycalled and local, and another is rarely called and external, when thesibcaller rarely calls the sibling routine, the optimization may not beadvantageous in that call site and one of a programmer, feedbackcomponent or analysis component, may determine to suppress theoptimization for a particular sibcaller. In one example, this adaptivestep suppresses possibly one call site to a sibling routine of asibcaller, and excludes that symbol from the list of sibcallees that areto be considered when deciding to store context information to enable anextern return.

A further aspect of the present invention addresses the situation inwhich the child routine is external to its parent routine. In oneexample, a child routine that is external to its parent routine is notto call an external sibling, since such a call may corrupt the contextinformation (e.g., GOT pointer). For instance, referring to FIG. 7A, ifparent routine 200 is in one module 700 (e.g., module 3) and calls childroutine 202 in another module 702 (e.g., module 1) via, e.g., a PLT stub706 (or function call), then PLT stub 706 stores context informationcorresponding to module 3 (e.g., the GOT pointer). Then, if childroutine 202 calls sibling routine 220 in yet another module 704 (e.g.,module 2) via, e.g., a PLT stub 710 (or function call), then PLT stub710 stores other context information that overwrites the first contextinformation corresponding to module 3. However, on return (e.g., blr222) from sibling routine 220 in module 2 to parent routine 200 inmodule 3, it is the first context information corresponding to module 3that is desired.

In one embodiment of a PLT stub, the following code sequence is used totransfer control from module 1 to module 2 while storing the GOT pointercorresponding to module 2 using a standard store double instruction:

std r2, 24(r1) addis r12, r2, func@plt@toc@ha ld r12,func@plt@toc@l(r12) mtctr r12 bctrwhere std is store double, addis is add immediate, toc is table ofcontents, ld is load, mtctr is move to count register, and bctr isbranch counter register.

In another embodiment, the std instruction is placed in a placeholderlocation previously allocated by the compiler, and the PLT stub performsonly the control transfer:

addis r12,r2,func@plt@toc@ha ld r12,func@plt@toc@l(r12) mtctr r12 bctr

However, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention, thesaving of the second context information is suppressed. For instance,the linker or the compiler creates a PLT stub without saving the contextinformation for sibcalls (e.g., without the GOT pointer save; e.g.,without the std instruction). As an example, a relocation may be used toindicate the presence of a sibcall, as the particular call by thesibcaller, rather than a normal call, thereby suppressing the std to beplaced in the PLT stub, or in a scheduled placeholder. Thus, a PLT stubfor a sibcall may correspond to the following sequence without a stdinstruction as part of the PLT sub nor placed into a placeholder createdby a compiler to receive such a GOT store instruction:

addis r12,r2,sib@plt@toc@ha ld r12,sib@plt@toc@l(r12) mtctr r12 bctr

In another embodiment, when the code is generated, to avoid creating newrelocation commands (relocs) that require a linker to be updated tounderstand the newly defined sibcall relocs, the compiler generates,e.g., a TOCSAVE reloc that points to a dummy location in conjunctionwith a sibcall, and the linker fills in an unused location that is notexecuted, effectively suppressing the GOT save.

Further details relating to processing associated with external siblingroutines are described with reference to FIG. 7B. Initially, adetermination is made (e.g., by the linker or the compiler) as towhether a child routine (or other sibling routine) is calling anexternal sibling routine, as opposed to a non-sibling external functioncall, INQUIRY 720. An external sibcall may be recognized by, forexample: use of a new relocation command for sibcalls that indicates itis a sibcall and not a non-sibling function call or by determining thereis a branch without a return to an external symbol. If an externalsibling routine is being called using a sibcall, in accordance with anaspect of the present invention, the context information, including anindicator to the GOT (e.g., the GOT pointer), is not saved (this isreferred to herein as not saving the GOT), such that the originalcontext of the caller to the sibcaller may be restored upon return fromthe sibcallee, STEP 722. However, if an external function call (and nota sibcall) is being performed, then the context information, includingan indicator to the GOT (e.g., the GOT pointer), is saved (this isreferred to herein as saving the GOT), such that it can be restoredlater, STEP 724.

In addition to the above, in code, a call may be defined as a localcall, and as such, the compiler may have suppressed the NOP instructionas the placeholder for the GOT restore instruction from an externalcall. However, if it is indicated that the child calls an externalsibling, then in accordance with prior techniques, the context cannot berestored because no location to receive the context restore instructionis provided with a placeholder NOP instruction. Thus, in accordance withan aspect of the present invention, rather than directly branching to achild sibcaller which may be calling an external sibling routine, thesubroutine branch can be edited from a branch link to the child routineto a branch to a stub function, which includes the branch link to thechild routine, as well as store and restore instructions of the contextinformation (e.g., GOT information). In particular, as shown in FIG. 8,parent routine 200 calls child routine 202, which is known to be a localroutine. Therefore, parent routine 200 does not include a NOPinstruction. However, child routine 202 calls an external sibling 220.Thus, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention, the branchlink (bl) statement 800 is replaced with a branch to stub instruction802, which branches to stub 810. In that stub, the context informationis saved 812 and later restored 814 upon a return 820 from siblingroutine 220.

Described in detail herein are a number of optimizations that may beperformed to efficiently process sibling calls. One or more aspects ofthe present invention are inextricably tied to computer technology andfacilitate processing within a computer, improving overall performance.

One particular embodiment of facilitating processing in a computingenvironment is described with reference to FIGS. 9A-9B. This embodimentincludes determining context information based on the type of routine(e.g., an external sibling routine or a function call).

Referring initially to FIG. 9A, a determination is made as to whether acaller is calling a routine that potentially calls one or more siblingroutines (the caller and the routine may be in one module) (900). Basedon determining the caller is calling the routine that potentially callsone or more sibling routines, a check is made as to whether a siblingroutine being called by the routine is an external sibling routine, theexternal sibling routine being in a different module than the routine(902). Based on the checking indicating the sibling routine is anexternal sibling routine, an action is performed to provide contextinformation (e.g., information to restore an indicator to a globaloffset table) to be used in the sibling routine returning to the caller(904).

Further, based on the checking indicating the sibling routine is not anexternal sibling routine, an abbreviated call sequence is generated inwhich the context information is omitted (906). This facilitatesprocessing if an external sibling routine is not being called.

As examples, at least one of the determining, the checking and theproviding is performed by a linker executing on a processor of thecomputing environment (908).

Moreover, referring to FIG. 9B, in one example, the checking whether theroutine is calling an external sibling routine is based on one or moresibling call destinations that are determined for the routine (920).

Further, in one example, the determining whether the caller is callingthe routine that potentially calls one or more sibling routines includeschecking a marker of the routine (922). As examples, the marker isindicated by a pseudo-instruction included within the routine, themarker is included in a symbol data structure of the routine, and/or themarker is a relocation entry associated with the routine (924).

As described herein, in accordance with one or more aspects of thepresent invention, a sibcaller is marked by, e.g., the compiler. In oneembodiment, sibcallers that may be calling external sibling routines(e.g., sibling routines in different modules) are marked, and sibcallersthat may be calling local sibling routines (e.g., within the same moduleas the sibcaller) are not marked.

In one embodiment, when a marked sibcaller is linked by the linker, andthe caller to the sibcaller is a local caller (e.g., the caller and thesibcaller are in the same module), the linker generates a call sequencethat stores sufficient information so that an extern sibcall may beperformed by the sibcaller. In a further embodiment, when a markedsibcaller is linked by the linker, the caller to the sibcaller is alocal caller, and the sibcaller is marked as an external sibcaller, thelinker generates a call sequence that stores sufficient information sothat the extern sibcall may be performed.

In one embodiment, a sibcaller is identified (e.g., as a function thatis being called which might call a sibling routine using a sibcallsequence), so that, e.g., a linker can insert code to save the fullcontext (e.g., code to store/restore a GOT pointer), in case thesibcaller may want to transfer to an external sibling. The compilerperforms the marking, and in one embodiment, only the sibcallers thatmay potentially call external sibling routines are marked by thecompiler. By not marking the sibcallers that do not call externalsibling routines, but instead, call local sibling routines, extraoverhead is avoided.

As an example, the marking is performed with an indicator. For instance,the indicator is a relocation type in accordance with an applicationbinary interface, such as an ELF ABI. As another example, the indicatoris a flag in a symbol table entry for this function. In one example, theindicator is set (e.g., by the assembler or other binary objecttranslator), based on a pseudo-instruction placed in the sibcaller bythe compiler. The pseudo-instruction is placed in either all sibcallersor sibcallers determined to potentially call external sibling routines,based on the selected embodiment. The compiler emits the file having theindicator and the linker reads the file, as one example.

In one embodiment, the linker reads the indicator for a function, andbased on the indicator being set (e.g., to one) indicating the sibcallerpotentially calls sibling routines or external sibling routines,dependent on the embodiment, saves the full context (e.g., store/restorecode for a GOT pointer) based on calling a sibcaller that may be callingexternal sibling routines. If, however, the sibcaller is calling localsibling routines, the saving of the context is suppressed at the callsite to the sibcaller, based on determining that the sibcaller callsonly local sibcallers using sibcalls.

As indicated, a sibcaller is marked by, e.g., the compiler. In oneparticular embodiment, sibcallers that may be calling external siblingroutines are so marked. In one example, the compiler providesinformation about the potential sibcallees, e.g., by providing a list ofsibcallees in conjunction with the sibcaller relocation. In anotherexample, the linker analyzes the compiler generated code to determinethe sibcallees. In one embodiment, additional hints are emitted by thecompiler to aid the linker in analyzing a sibcaller routine (e.g., byindicating the length or range of each routine, or multiple ranges, if aroutine has been compiled in a discontiguous manner.)

In one embodiment, when a marked sibcaller is linked by the linker, andthe caller to the sibcaller is a local caller, and the sibcaller ismarked as a potentially external sibcaller, the linker performs ananalysis-step to determine whether any of the called siblings are infact external sibling routines. If no external sibling routine ispresent (e.g., the sibling routines have been resolved locally, e.g., bya static linker), then a local call to the sibcaller is performed. If atleast one of the sibling routines called by the sibcaller is external,enough information to perform an external routine return is stored priorto calling the local sibcaller. In one embodiment, the linker generatesa call sequence that stores sufficient information so that an externsibcall may be performed.

In one embodiment, the compiler creates a list of routines that may becalled as sibling routines for a sibcaller, and provides that list in anobject file. As examples, the list is associated with a function that isa sibcaller, or as a relocation (or a sequence of relocations) at thebeginning of the routine. The linker uses this information, as follows:if all the sibcallees are local, then the sibcaller, when called as afunction, can be called with a sequence saving “local call” context(e.g., no store/restore of the GOT pointer); otherwise, the call issaved with full context (e.g., with store/restore of the GOT pointer),since it may hand off control to an external routine which is to returnand restore context for the external routine.

In another embodiment, an indicator may be provided that associates alist of routines as possibly called as sibling routines by a routine,indicated as being a sibcaller. The list is associated with a routinethat is a sibcaller, or as a relocation (or sequence of relocations) atthe beginning of the routine.

In yet a further embodiment, the compiler may mark each call to asibling routine as a sibcall. In yet a further embodiment, the compilermarks instructions that are part of the sibcaller.

As indicated, in one example, an indicator is provided to mark a sibcallas a sibcall, rather than a typical function call (e.g., usingrelocation or flag in the symbol table). In a further embodiment, amarker is provided to mark a range of a routine (e.g., whichinstructions belong to what routine). In one aspect, the linker readsthe markers for sibcalls being made, and the markers indicate whichinstructions belong to what routines in order to determine the sibcallscorresponding to a particular routine. The linker, as an example, buildsa list of sibcallees for a potential external sibcaller, and based onthat list makes a determination as to whether any of them are external.If the sibcallees are local, then this sibcaller, when called, can becalled with a sequence saving the local call context; otherwise, thecall is saved with the full (external call) context, as described above.

In one embodiment, when an external sibcall is to be made, the contextinformation is not to be stored since the storing of that contextinformation will overwrite context information previously stored (e.g.,when the external sibcaller was called by a caller that is external tothe sibcaller). Thus, in accordance with one or more aspects, the savingof the context information is suppressed. In one embodiment, this isperformed by creating a PLT stub (either by the compiler or the linker)that does not include the storing/restoring of the context information(e.g., the GOT pointer).

An external sibcaller (i.e., a sibcaller that is or potentially calls anexternal sibling routine) is recognized, for instance, by a relocationspecifically defined for sibcalls, by diagnosing a branch with no returnto an extern symbol, or by another means. In one embodiment, if thecompiler generates code that is not understood by the linker, thecompiler suppresses generation of the context information to beconservative.

In one embodiment, the compiler inserts the specifically definedrelocation that points to a dummy location, in conjunction with asibcall, and then, the linker fills in the location with an address thatis not executed, effectively suppressing the context save.

In another embodiment, for register indirect sibcalls, the compileremits a call sequence without the context save.

Aspects of the present invention provide linker/compiler managed contextsaving in conjunction with external sibcallers. In one embodiment, aprogram is provided that is adapted to generate an applicationperforming external sibcalls when the program uses a compiler and linkermanaged GOT.

Although a number of embodiments and examples are provided above tooptimize the use of sibcalls, thereby facilitating processing in acomputing environment and improving performance, other embodiments andexamples are also possible and considered aspects of the invention.

One embodiment of a computing environment to incorporate and use one ormore aspects of the present invention is described with reference toFIG. 10. A computing environment 1000 includes, for instance, aprocessor 1002 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU)) that has one ormore processor cores, and each processor core may be referred to ascircuitry 1004. Processor 1002 may include one or more registers 1006,and each register is a small amount of storage available as part of aCPU or other digital processor. Data may be loaded into a register 1006from memory 1010 for arithmetic manipulation by circuitry 1004.Registers 1006 are individually labeled as register 1 (r1) throughregister N (rN), as an example.

Memory 1010 may include one or more software applications 1014 withprogram logic to perform various operations, and it may include anoperating system 1020. Operating system 1020 may include a linker 1030(e.g., a static linker) and a compiler 1040. Memory 1010 may alsoinclude one or more shared libraries (e.g., local modules) 1050, and/orone or more shared libraries (e.g., external modules) 1060.

In one embodiment, processor 1002 is based on the Power Architectureoffered by International Business Machines Corporation. One embodimentof the Power Architecture is described in “Power ISA™ Version 2.07B,”International Business Machines Corporation, Apr. 9, 2015, which ishereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In one example,the processor executes an operating system, such as AIX, also offered byInternational Business Machines Corporation. POWER ARCHITECTURE and AIXare registered trademarks of International Business MachinesCorporation, Armonk, N.Y., USA. Other names used herein may beregistered trademarks, trademarks, or product names of InternationalBusiness Machines Corporation or other companies.

In another example, processor 1002 is based on the z/Architectureoffered by International Business Machines Corporation, and is part of aserver, such as the System z server, which implements the z/Architectureand is also offered by International Business Machines Corporation. Oneembodiment of the z/Architecture is described in an IBM publicationentitled, “z/Architecture Principles of Operation,” IBM Publication No.SA22-7832-10, Eleventh Edition, March 2015, which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety. In one example, the processorexecutes an operating system, such as z/OS, also offered byInternational Business Machines Corporation. IBM, Z/OS, andZ/ARCHITECTURE are registered trademarks of International BusinessMachines Corporation.

In yet a further embodiment, processor 1002 is based on an Intelarchitecture offered by Intel Corporation. Intel is a registeredtrademark of Intel Corporation, Santa Clara, Calif. Yet further,processor 1002 may be based on other architectures. The architectures,severs, systems and/or operating systems mentioned herein are merelyprovided as examples.

Another embodiment of a computing environment to incorporate and use oneor more aspects is described with reference to FIG. 11A. In thisexample, a computing environment 1100 includes, for instance, a nativecentral processing unit 1102, a memory 1104, and one or moreinput/output devices and/or interfaces 1106 coupled to one another via,for example, one or more buses 1108 and/or other connections. Asexamples, computing environment 1100 may include a PowerPC processor, azSeries server, or a pSeries server offered by International BusinessMachines Corporation, Armonk, N.Y.; an HP Superdome with Intel ItaniumII processors offered by Hewlett Packard Co., Palo Alto, Calif.; and/orother machines based on architectures offered by International BusinessMachines Corporation, Hewlett Packard, Intel, Oracle, or others.

Native central processing unit 1102 includes one or more nativeregisters 1110, such as one or more general purpose registers and/or oneor more special purpose registers used during processing within theenvironment. These registers include information that represents thestate of the environment at any particular point in time.

Moreover, native central processing unit 1102 executes instructions andcode that are stored in memory 1104. In one particular example, thecentral processing unit executes emulator code 1112 stored in memory1104. This code enables the processing environment configured in onearchitecture to emulate another architecture. For instance, emulatorcode 1112 allows machines based on architectures other than the Powerarchitecture, such as zSeries servers, pSeries servers, HP Superdomeservers or others, to emulate the Power architecture and to executesoftware and instructions developed based on the Power architecture. Ina further example, emulator code 1112 allows machines based onarchitectures other than the z/Architecture, such as PowerPC processors,pSeries servers, HP Superdome servers or others, to emulate thez/Architecture and to execute software and instructions developed basedon the z/Architecture. Other architectures may also be emulated.

Further details relating to emulator code 1112 are described withreference to FIG. 11B. Guest instructions 1150 stored in memory 1104comprise software instructions (e.g., correlating to machineinstructions) that were developed to be executed in an architectureother than that of native CPU 1102. For example, guest instructions 1150may have been designed to execute on a PowerPC processor or az/Architecture processor 1002, but instead, are being emulated on nativeCPU 1102, which may be, for example, an Intel Itanium II processor. Inone example, emulator code 1112 includes an instruction fetching routine1152 to obtain one or more guest instructions 1150 from memory 1104, andto optionally provide local buffering for the instructions obtained. Italso includes an instruction translation routine 1154 to determine thetype of guest instruction that has been obtained and to translate theguest instruction into one or more corresponding native instructions1156. This translation includes, for instance, identifying the functionto be performed by the guest instruction and choosing the nativeinstruction(s) to perform that function.

Further, emulator code 1112 includes an emulation control routine 1160to cause the native instructions to be executed. Emulation controlroutine 1160 may cause native CPU 1102 to execute a routine of nativeinstructions that emulate one or more previously obtained guestinstructions and, at the conclusion of such execution, return control tothe instruction fetch routine to emulate the obtaining of the next guestinstruction or a group of guest instructions. Execution of the nativeinstructions 1156 may include loading data into a register from memory1104; storing data back to memory from a register; or performing sometype of arithmetic or logic operation, as determined by the translationroutine.

Each routine is, for instance, implemented in software, which is storedin memory and executed by native central processing unit 1102. In otherexamples, one or more of the routines or operations are implemented infirmware, hardware, software or some combination thereof. The registersof the emulated processor may be emulated using registers 1110 of thenative CPU or by using locations in memory 1104. In embodiments, guestinstructions 1150, native instructions 1156 and emulator code 1112 mayreside in the same memory or may be disbursed among different memorydevices.

As used herein, firmware includes, e.g., the microcode, millicode and/ormacrocode of the processor. It includes, for instance, thehardware-level instructions and/or data structures used inimplementation of higher level machine code. In one embodiment, itincludes, for instance, proprietary code that is typically delivered asmicrocode that includes trusted software or microcode specific to theunderlying hardware and controls operating system access to the systemhardware.

In one example, a guest instruction 1150 is obtained, translated andexecuted. The instruction, which is of one architecture (e.g., the Powerarchitecture or z/Architecture), is fetched from memory, translated andrepresented as a sequence of native instructions 1156 of anotherarchitecture (e.g., the z/Architecture, Power architecture, Intelarchitecture, etc.). These native instructions are then executed.

One or more aspects may relate to cloud computing.

It is understood in advance that although this disclosure includes adetailed description on cloud computing, implementation of the teachingsrecited herein are not limited to a cloud computing environment. Rather,embodiments of the present invention are capable of being implemented inconjunction with any other type of computing environment now known orlater developed.

Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g. networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing,memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that canbe rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort orinteraction with a provider of the service. This cloud model may includeat least five characteristics, at least three service models, and atleast four deployment models.

Characteristics are as follows:

On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally provisioncomputing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, asneeded automatically without requiring human interaction with theservice's provider.

Broad network access: capabilities are available over a network andaccessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneousthin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).

Resource pooling: the provider's computing resources are pooled to servemultiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physicaland virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according todemand. There is a sense of location independence in that the consumergenerally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of theprovided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher levelof abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter).

Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and elasticallyprovisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out andrapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilitiesavailable for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can bepurchased in any quantity at any time.

Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and optimizeresource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level ofabstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage,processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can bemonitored, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both theprovider and consumer of the utilized service.

Service Models are as follows:

Software as a Service (SaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto use the provider's applications running on a cloud infrastructure.The applications are accessible from various client devices through athin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based email). Theconsumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructureincluding network, servers, operating systems, storage, or evenindividual application capabilities, with the possible exception oflimited user-specific application configuration settings.

Platform as a Service (PaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquiredapplications created using programming languages and tools supported bythe provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems, orstorage, but has control over the deployed applications and possiblyapplication hosting environment configurations.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): the capability provided to theconsumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and otherfundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy andrun arbitrary software, which can include operating systems andapplications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage,deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networkingcomponents (e.g., host firewalls).

Deployment Models are as follows:

Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for anorganization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party andmay exist on-premises or off-premises.

Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by severalorganizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns(e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and complianceconsiderations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third partyand may exist on-premises or off-premises.

Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to the generalpublic or a large industry group and is owned by an organization sellingcloud services.

Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or moreclouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities butare bound together by standardized or proprietary technology thatenables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting forloadbalancing between clouds).

A cloud computing environment is service oriented with a focus onstatelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability.At the heart of cloud computing is an infrastructure comprising anetwork of interconnected nodes.

Referring now to FIG. 12, a schematic of an example of a cloud computingnode is shown. Cloud computing node 10 is only one example of a suitablecloud computing node and is not intended to suggest any limitation as tothe scope of use or functionality of embodiments of the inventiondescribed herein. Regardless, cloud computing node 10 is capable ofbeing implemented and/or performing any of the functionality set forthhereinabove.

In cloud computing node 10 there is a computer system/server 12, whichis operational with numerous other general purpose or special purposecomputing system environments or configurations. Examples of well-knowncomputing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may besuitable for use with computer system/server 12 include, but are notlimited to, personal computer systems, server computer systems, thinclients, thick clients, handheld or laptop devices, multiprocessorsystems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmableconsumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputer systems, mainframecomputer systems, and distributed cloud computing environments thatinclude any of the above systems or devices, and the like.

Computer system/server 12 may be described in the general context ofcomputer system-executable instructions, such as program modules, beingexecuted by a computer system. Generally, program modules may includeroutines, programs, objects, components, logic, data structures, and soon that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract datatypes. Computer system/server 12 may be practiced in distributed cloudcomputing environments where tasks are performed by remote processingdevices that are linked through a communications network. In adistributed cloud computing environment, program modules may be locatedin both local and remote computer system storage media including memorystorage devices.

As shown in FIG. 12, computer system/server 12 in cloud computing node10 is shown in the form of a general-purpose computing device. Thecomponents of computer system/server 12 may include, but are not limitedto, one or more processors or processing units 16, a system memory 28,and a bus 18 that couples various system components including systemmemory 28 to processor 16.

Bus 18 represents one or more of any of several types of bus structures,including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, anaccelerated graphics port, and a processor or local bus using any of avariety of bus architectures. By way of example, and not limitation,such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus,Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, VideoElectronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and PeripheralComponent Interconnect (PCI) bus.

Computer system/server 12 typically includes a variety of computersystem readable media. Such media may be any available media that isaccessible by computer system/server 12, and it includes both volatileand non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media.

System memory 28 can include computer system readable media in the formof volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM) 30 and/or cachememory 32. Computer system/server 12 may further include otherremovable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer system storagemedia. By way of example only, storage system 34 can be provided forreading from and writing to a non-removable, non-volatile magnetic media(not shown and typically called a “hard drive”). Although not shown, amagnetic disk drive for reading from and writing to a removable,non-volatile magnetic disk (e.g., a “floppy disk”), and an optical diskdrive for reading from or writing to a removable, non-volatile opticaldisk such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or other optical media can be provided.In such instances, each can be connected to bus 18 by one or more datamedia interfaces. As will be further depicted and described below,memory 28 may include at least one program product having a set (e.g.,at least one) of program modules that are configured to carry out thefunctions of embodiments of the invention.

Program/utility 40, having a set (at least one) of program modules 42,may be stored in memory 28 by way of example, and not limitation, aswell as an operating system, one or more application programs, otherprogram modules, and program data. Each of the operating system, one ormore application programs, other program modules, and program data orsome combination thereof, may include an implementation of a networkingenvironment. Program modules 42 generally carry out the functions and/ormethodologies of embodiments of the invention as described herein.

Computer system/server 12 may also communicate with one or more externaldevices 14 such as a keyboard, a pointing device, a display 24, etc.;one or more devices that enable a user to interact with computersystem/server 12; and/or any devices (e.g., network card, modem, etc.)that enable computer system/server 12 to communicate with one or moreother computing devices. Such communication can occur via Input/Output(I/O) interfaces 22. Still yet, computer system/server 12 cancommunicate with one or more networks such as a local area network(LAN), a general wide area network (WAN), and/or a public network (e.g.,the Internet) via network adapter 20. As depicted, network adapter 20communicates with the other components of computer system/server 12 viabus 18. It should be understood that although not shown, other hardwareand/or software components could be used in conjunction with computersystem/server 12. Examples, include, but are not limited to: microcode,device drivers, redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays,RAID systems, tape drives, and data archival storage systems, etc.

Referring now to FIG. 13, illustrative cloud computing environment 50 isdepicted. As shown, cloud computing environment 50 comprises one or morecloud computing nodes 10 with which local computing devices used bycloud consumers, such as, for example, personal digital assistant (PDA)or cellular telephone 54A, desktop computer 54B, laptop computer 54C,and/or automobile computer system 54N may communicate. Nodes 10 maycommunicate with one another. They may be grouped (not shown) physicallyor virtually, in one or more networks, such as Private, Community,Public, or Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove, or a combinationthereof. This allows cloud computing environment 50 to offerinfrastructure, platforms and/or software as services for which a cloudconsumer does not need to maintain resources on a local computingdevice. It is understood that the types of computing devices 54A-N shownin FIG. 13 are intended to be illustrative only and that computing nodes10 and cloud computing environment 50 can communicate with any type ofcomputerized device over any type of network and/or network addressableconnection (e.g., using a web browser).

Referring now to FIG. 14, a set of functional abstraction layersprovided by cloud computing environment 50 (FIG. 13) is shown. It shouldbe understood in advance that the components, layers, and functionsshown in FIG. 14 are intended to be illustrative only and embodiments ofthe invention are not limited thereto. As depicted, the following layersand corresponding functions are provided:

Hardware and software layer 60 includes hardware and softwarecomponents. Examples of hardware components include mainframes 61; RISC(Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture based servers 62;servers 63; blade servers 64; storage devices 65; and networks andnetworking components 66. In some embodiments, software componentsinclude network application server software 67 and database software 68.

Virtualization layer 70 provides an abstraction layer from which thefollowing examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers71; virtual storage 72; virtual networks 73, including virtual privatenetworks; virtual applications and operating systems 74; and virtualclients 75.

In one example, management layer 80 may provide the functions describedbelow. Resource provisioning 81 provides dynamic procurement ofcomputing resources and other resources that are utilized to performtasks within the cloud computing environment. Metering and Pricing 82provide cost tracking as resources are utilized within the cloudcomputing environment, and billing or invoicing for consumption of theseresources. In one example, these resources may comprise applicationsoftware licenses. Security provides identity verification for cloudconsumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources.User portal 83 provides access to the cloud computing environment forconsumers and system administrators. Service level management 84provides cloud computing resource allocation and management such thatrequired service levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA) planningand fulfillment 85 provide pre-arrangement for, and procurement of,cloud computing resources for which a future requirement is anticipatedin accordance with an SLA.

Workloads layer 90 provides examples of functionality for which thecloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of workloads andfunctions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping andnavigation 91; software development and lifecycle management 92; virtualclassroom education delivery 93; data analytics processing 94;transaction processing 95; and sibling processing 96.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product at any possible technical detail level of integration.The computer program product may include a computer readable storagemedium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereonfor causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, configuration data for integrated circuitry, oreither source code or object code written in any combination of one ormore programming languages, including an object oriented programminglanguage such as Smalltalk, C++, or the like, and procedural programminglanguages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programminglanguages. The computer readable program instructions may executeentirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as astand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partlyon a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. Inthe latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user'scomputer through any type of network, including a local area network(LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to anexternal computer (for example, through the Internet using an InternetService Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including,for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gatearrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute thecomputer readable program instructions by utilizing state information ofthe computer readable program instructions to personalize the electroniccircuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

In addition to the above, one or more aspects may be provided, offered,deployed, managed, serviced, etc. by a service provider who offersmanagement of customer environments. For instance, the service providercan create, maintain, support, etc. computer code and/or a computerinfrastructure that performs one or more aspects for one or morecustomers. In return, the service provider may receive payment from thecustomer under a subscription and/or fee agreement, as examples.Additionally or alternatively, the service provider may receive paymentfrom the sale of advertising content to one or more third parties.

In one aspect, an application may be deployed for performing one or moreembodiments. As one example, the deploying of an application comprisesproviding computer infrastructure operable to perform one or moreembodiments.

As a further aspect, a computing infrastructure may be deployedcomprising integrating computer readable code into a computing system,in which the code in combination with the computing system is capable ofperforming one or more embodiments.

As yet a further aspect, a process for integrating computinginfrastructure comprising integrating computer readable code into acomputer system may be provided. The computer system comprises acomputer readable medium, in which the computer medium comprises one ormore embodiments. The code in combination with the computer system iscapable of performing one or more embodiments.

Although various embodiments are described above, these are onlyexamples. For example, computing environments of other architectures canbe used to incorporate and use one or more embodiments. Further,different instructions, instruction formats, instruction fields and/orinstruction values may be used. Many variations are possible.

Further, other types of computing environments can benefit and be used.As an example, a data processing system suitable for storing and/orexecuting program code is usable that includes at least two processorscoupled directly or indirectly to memory elements through a system bus.The memory elements include, for instance, local memory employed duringactual execution of the program code, bulk storage, and cache memorywhich provide temporary storage of at least some program code in orderto reduce the number of times code must be retrieved from bulk storageduring execution.

Input/Output or I/O devices (including, but not limited to, keyboards,displays, pointing devices, DASD, tape, CDs, DVDs, thumb drives andother memory media, etc.) can be coupled to the system either directlyor through intervening I/O controllers. Network adapters may also becoupled to the system to enable the data processing system to becomecoupled to other data processing systems or remote printers or storagedevices through intervening private or public networks. Modems, cablemodems, and Ethernet cards are just a few of the available types ofnetwork adapters.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, thesingular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the pluralforms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It willbe further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising”,when used in this specification, specify the presence of statedfeatures, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, butdo not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features,integers, steps, operations, elements, components and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below, if any, areintended to include any structure, material, or act for performing thefunction in combination with other claimed elements as specificallyclaimed. The description of one or more embodiments has been presentedfor purposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to beexhaustive or limited to in the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain variousaspects and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinaryskill in the art to understand various embodiments with variousmodifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer program product for facilitatingprocessing in a computing environment, the computer program productcomprising: a computer readable storage medium readable by a processingcircuit and storing instructions for execution by the processing circuitfor performing a method comprising: determining whether a caller iscalling a routine that potentially calls one or more sibling routines;checking, based on determining the caller is calling the routine thatpotentially calls one or more sibling routines, whether a siblingroutine being called by the routine is an external sibling routine, theexternal sibling routine being in a different module than the routine;and performing an action to provide context information to be used inthe sibling routine returning to the caller, the performing the actionto provide the context information being based on the checkingindicating the sibling routine is an external sibling routine.
 2. Thecomputer program product of claim 1, wherein the context informationincludes information to restore an indicator to a global offset table.3. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the method furthercomprises generating an abbreviated call sequence in which the contextinformation is omitted, based on the checking indicating the siblingroutine is not an external sibling routine.
 4. The computer programproduct of claim 1, wherein at least one of the determining, thechecking and the providing is performed by a linker executing on aprocessor of the computing environment.
 5. The computer program productof claim 1, wherein the method further comprises determining one or moresibling call destinations of the routine, and wherein the checkingwhether the routine is calling an external sibling routine is based onthe one or more sibling call destinations that are determined.
 6. Thecomputer program product of claim 1, wherein the determining whether thecaller is calling the routine that potentially calls one or more siblingroutines comprises checking a marker of the routine.
 7. The computerprogram product of claim 6, wherein the marker is indicated by apseudo-instruction included within the routine.
 8. The computer programproduct of claim 6, wherein the marker is included in a symbol datastructure of the routine, the marker to indicate whether the routinepotentially calls one or more sibling routines.
 9. The computer programproduct of claim 6, wherein the marker is a relocation entry associatedwith the routine used to indicate whether the routine potentially callsone or more sibling routines.
 10. The computer program product of claim1, wherein the routine and the caller are in one module.
 11. A computersystem for facilitating processing in a computing environment, thecomputer system comprising: a memory; and a processor in communicationwith the memory, wherein the computer system is configured to perform amethod, said method comprising: determining whether a caller is callinga routine that potentially calls one or more sibling routines; checking,based on determining the caller is calling the routine that potentiallycalls one or more sibling routines, whether a sibling routine beingcalled by the routine is an external sibling routine, the externalsibling routine being in a different module than the routine; andperforming an action to provide context information to be used in thesibling routine returning to the caller, the performing the action toprovide the context information being based on the checking indicatingthe sibling routine is an external sibling routine.
 12. The computersystem of claim 11, wherein the context information includes informationto restore an indicator to a global offset table.
 13. The computersystem of claim 11, wherein the method further comprises generating anabbreviated call sequence in which the context information is omitted,based on the checking indicating the sibling routine is not an externalsibling routine.
 14. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the methodfurther comprises determining one or more sibling call destinations ofthe routine, and wherein the checking whether the routine is calling anexternal sibling routine is based on the one or more sibling calldestinations that are determined.
 15. The computer system of claim 11,wherein the determining whether the caller is calling the routine thatpotentially calls one or more sibling routines comprises checking amarker of the routine.